Help End My Nightmare Before Christmas!! Idle Issue Fiesta 1.4 Zetec

[sazwahhh]

Hi

I am having an absolute nightmare with my new 2003 1.4 Zetec Fiesta that I recently got conned in buying via eBay a week ago.

Upon buying the vehicle there was no problem with the engine it ran like a dream - yes accelerator was tied down with a cable tie - what I have found out since taking to a garage!!!

The issue is now the car doesn't run properly in low gears when coming to a junction it conks out..It intermittently conks out when it heats up? Revs of the engine misfire also.

The garage took the head gasket off and replaced two valves on the outlet exhaust as they were leaking. It looked like the head had been taken off previously? and valves were not lapped in properly and wrong sealant used for the rock cover when previously worked on (now panic is setting in).

The garage also replaced spark plugs, ignition coil, gasket and cleansed the catalytic converter. It has improved slightly but still conks out and takes a while sometimes for revs to come down when in higher gears? They consulted other garages in the area and none of them could understand why the car was missing revs?

The car judders on low gears/idle?

Please any help would be appreciated I have now spent £1200 buying it and another £800 trying to rectify this dodgey car sale..

Regards,

Sarah

[Stoney871]

Saying that the accelerator is held with a cable tie is it possible that the pedal is moving out of range causing the throttle to drop too low?

[sazwahhh]

No the seller did this only to cheat his way in selling the car to keep the revs up so it wouldn't stop running - well that's what the garage said..it didn't work as half way home It began idling and it continues to since garage took it off..im thinking of possibilities of:

-Idle Speed Control Valve?

-Oxygen Sensor?

-MAF Sensor?

-Blocked Catalytic converter?

-Faulty Crankcase breathing pipe?

Although these are common idle/misfire issues I've listed I have no idea which one it would be?!

Thanks, Sarah

[vince_13]

get the garage to check the coil pack, these are prone to cracking down the middle and can cause a misfire on 1 or 2 cylinders, leading to a farely heavy vibration and also poor idle issue

[wase16ll]

trying to piece this together...

you say it had a misfire, result being that garage removed the head and replaced a couple of exhaust valves...can only conclude this was done due to poor results in compression tests..

you then say that plugs/coil pack was changed along with cleaning cat..

what isnt clear is, is the misfire still present or are we talking just a idle/revs problem

taking it for granted for the moment that it no longer misfires....

has ecu been checked for faults?

has the exhaust gasses been tested?

is it just a bad idle?

what do you mean by 'missing revs' and when does this happen?

[Vendee]

No the seller did this only to cheat his way in selling the car to keep the revs up so it wouldn't stop running - well that's what the garage said..it didn't work as half way home It began idling and it continues to since garage took it off..im thinking of possibilities of:

-Idle Speed Control Valve?

-Oxygen Sensor?

-MAF Sensor?

-Blocked Catalytic converter?

-Faulty Crankcase breathing pipe?

Although these are common idle/misfire issues I've listed I have no idea which one it would be?!

Thanks, Sarah

You say that the coil and plugs were replaced but what about the HT leads? That would be No.1 thing to change if they haven't been done already. Best to use genuine Ford/Motorcraft leads on this engine. As for the MAF Sensor, sometimes just disconnecting it can confirm the problem i.e. the misfire dissappears with it disconnected. The MAF can sometimes be cleaned rather than replaced. The other thing that can cause idle problems is the Throttle Position Sensor (TPS). Good luck.

[Dan62]

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[sazwahhh]

Ok so it doesn't have a MAF on my car?

Someone on another forum said I can check the throttle but awaiting response on how to do it ..

There are common problems with the throttle position sensor on some Fiestas. The quickest check I know is to put a multimeter across the sensor, and open and close the throttle smoothly. The resistance should change just as smoothly with no 'swinging' needle

Also ive been told it could be an idle control valve? Both the throttle and idle control valve can be removed and cleaned to see if there is improvement am I right??

Thanks

[sazwahhh]

Throttle control unit (throttle body) would be a good idea to change if you have a rev / idle issue.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FORD-FIESTA-MK-6-7-PETROL-THROTTLE-BODY-USED-UNDAMAGED-ITEM-/281192679681?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&fits=Model%3AFiesta&hash=item417863c901

There is no MAF and with the car having an electronically controlled accelerator there is no TPS as such, only on the accelerator pedal itself and should that fail you will get an EAC fail message on the dash.

Yes the EAC lit up and juddered to a stop. How would I test the pedal?

Thanks

[Dan62]

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[VickiW]

blooming shocking what people do!!! Good luck

[craiglr]

did you pay through paypal or with credit card and also was the car described as faulty on eBay if not then you should be able to get your money back.

[craiglr]

Yes the EAC lit up and juddered to a stop. How would I test the pedal?

Thanks

did the garage not put the car on a diagnostics tester to check for faults cos if a light has come on the dash then they should be able to pin point the problem, that would have been the first step i would have taken if the light was on the dash.

[sazwahhh]

did the garage not put the car on a diagnostics tester to check for faults cos if a light has come on the dash then they should be able to pin point the problem, that would have been the first step i would have taken if the light was on the dash.

Yes the garage put it on the diagnostic machine and valve 3 came up hence being replaced but to be honest there is no difference apart from the EAC light being off??

Im going to take it to the electronic garage tomorrow to do tests as im not car minded unfortunately! So more money down the drain..

the car was bought via eBay but with Cash but eBay policy is that they do not cover cars with their money back policy so be very aware when buying on eBay...its put me off totally!

Thanks

[sazwahhh]

The pedal has dual potentiometers, so in case of failure there is a limp home backup.

Pot 1 is pin1 to pin5, wiper pin6

Pot 2 is pin2 to pin4, wiper pin3

If you have EAC fail its highly likely to be the pedal or the throttle body, you might not see a problem checking the pedal with a meter and its not recommended to dismantle the throttle body, ideally replace them.

Brilliant thank you I will pass it onto the garage tomorrow as im not the best!

Really appreciate your help! :)

[sazwahhh]

These any good?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200977275628 - FORD FIESTA MK 6/7 02-07 ELECTRIC THROTTLE PEDAL BODY UNIT

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TP051-FORD-FIESTA-1-4-Throttle-Potentiometer-/290582027041pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item43a809db21 - 1.4 Throttle Potentiometer

Thanks

[Dan62]

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[wase16ll]

not being funny here, but think your best bet is to get it checked before throwing more money at it.

if no codes are logged then there is a good chance its something far simpler than throttle body/pedal sensors

taking it back to the beginning, you've had head off and valves changed...for starters you wont get codes for faulty valves, would only log a misfire..so take it garage did a compression test to pinpoint a valve problem

what isnt clear is, do you still have a misfire problem or just an idle issue

if its just an idle issue is it constant or sporadic.

does it have any other issues, such as power loss.

you said that light is off and no other codes showing, you also said head had been removed previously and wrong sealant on cover...the cover doesnt need sealant, this alone can cause an issue if that sealent contaminates the lambda sensor...

would recommend getting the codes rechecked and getting the exhaust gasses tested, if it still has a misfire issue, would also recommend another compression test.

it doesnt make sense to buy throttle bodies etc when you have no reason to suspect them beyond others having similar issues..have only ever changed one in 15yrs, and that was only because the position sensor wasnt available as a seperate sensor.

[sazwahhh]

not being funny here, but think your best bet is to get it checked before throwing more money at it.

if no codes are logged then there is a good chance its something far simpler than throttle body/pedal sensors

taking it back to the beginning, you've had head off and valves changed...for starters you wont get codes for faulty valves, would only log a misfire..so take it garage did a compression test to pinpoint a valve problem

what isnt clear is, do you still have a misfire problem or just an idle issue

if its just an idle issue is it constant or sporadic.

does it have any other issues, such as power loss.

you said that light is off and no other codes showing, you also said head had been removed previously and wrong sealant on cover...the cover doesnt need sealant, this alone can cause an issue if that sealent contaminates the lambda sensor...

would recommend getting the codes rechecked and getting the exhaust gasses tested, if it still has a misfire issue, would also recommend another compression test.

it doesnt make sense to buy throttle bodies etc when you have no reason to suspect them beyond others having similar issues..have only ever changed one in 15yrs, and that was only because the position sensor wasnt available as a seperate sensor

Thanks for your reply I really appreciate everyones thoughts on this dilemma!

They have done a few code recheck/compression tests since changing valves but only slight improvement on compression test. No improvement on the driving though.

Basically the car cuts out when coming to a junction or slowing down. The needle shakes also in low gears/idle.

The garage basically said they cannot figure out why its still doing it? So im stuck with this shed on my drive :( Do not know what to do and what to spend money on..

Thanks,

Sarah

[sazwahhh]

It also judders/shakes in low gears/idle like im on the old kangaroo petrol!

[sazwahhh]

This is the vehicle report if it helps...

The vehicle upon inspection was cutting out and the revs of the engine would be missing. The number four cylinder was low on compression this we assumed would be the reason why the vehicle was missing revs.

We proceeded to take the Head off and discovered that two valves on the outlet exhaust were leaking. We inspected the engine and could see that the Head had been taken off before and worked on previously. The valves had been replaced and one of the valves was not lapped in correctly. The wrong sealant was used for the rock cover when the vehicle was previously worked on. We replaced two valves on the vehicle; however the vehicle was not performing how a vehicle of that mileage should perform. We changed the spark plugs, ignition coil, gasket and cleansed the catalytic converter. Although the vehicle has improved, this is only a slight improvement. We repeated this procedure twice. We consulted other garages in the local area to gain further professional opinions but they could not understand why the vehicle is still missing revs.

We noted that the acceleration pedal was packed out with cable tie and tape to keep therevs high in the vehicle. This would give the appearance of the vehicle functioning normally and the revs being a normal rate for acceleration. It is clear that somebody knew there was a defect in the vehicle for them to have packed the acceleration.

Sarah

[wase16ll]

so do you think you still have a misfire issue, or is the engine 'smooth' but idling badly?

[sazwahhh]

If the engine is in high gears then it is smooth but low gears/idle it judders the needle shakes up and down then cuts out when slowing down/coming to junctions. It is even worse when cold but slightly better when engine warm but not amazing.

Thanks :)

[Stoney871]

Throttle body or maybe at a push could be the MAF sensor.

[sazwahhh]

Throttle body or maybe at a push could be the MAF sensor.

Ive been told there is no MAF sensor on my car? As electronic pedal? Not sure if this is correct.